I’ve been trying not to write about this because I didn’t want it to sound like I was hating on my previous boss, company, or team. But I can’t stop analyzing it, and recently I had some breakthroughs that I felt were worth sharing. First, the bare facts: I put in my two weeks’ notice at the end of June. I’d been unhappy for upwards of a year, but continually talked myself out of quitting for fear that I wouldn’t find anything better or that my problems were all in my head. I think it was the day I ended up in the emergency room on the advice of my…
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Wisdom From My Aunt, on Canvas
This amateur painting I made hangs above my desk, reminding me of the wisdom my aunt uses to get through the highs and lows of creating. Read the full story here.
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I Wonder Why
Do you want to know why people find it hard to love me?Why it’s so hard for anyone to get close to me?I’ll tell you why. I’m like the most delicate pane of glass or a paper-thin blade of ice,Sharp and clear and gorgeous in its delicacy.But then people are surprised when one harsh breath destroys me,Melting in the heat of a single hateful word or frightening toneOr scattering fragments in my anger like mortar,When some days shine brighter than others and still I manage to waste away. Like a snowflake, I cannot be grasped;You must hold out your hand and wait for me to drift in your direction.Beautifully methodical,…
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Welcoming the New Year with Curiosity
I’ve always liked New Year’s Eve. It’s probably my favorite holiday behind Halloween. Though I haven’t been faithful about choosing resolutions every year, nor sticking to every one of them, the ones I’ve done have led to some of the best decisions of my life, such as reading the Bible all the way through or writing a short story every month, which led to the birth of my first novel. This year, I’m still pondering my specific resolutions. But I did want to greet 2024 in style. It’s how I roll when I want to see big changes. The last time I went this hard for a new year was…
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The 10 Work Boundaries I Live By
With a whiff of the upcoming busy season at my job in the air, I felt the resurgence of my burning passion for the boundaries I use to keep myself healthy and happy, even in the corporate world. So without further ado, these are the rules I live by. I can imagine the possible objections to these rules, so let me address some of them briefly. Work is a necessary means to an end, and I hope you have or gain the courage and know-how to take control of your side of that transaction.
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Self Doubt Has a Face, and It’s Mine
My Self Doubt is a cheerful, overweight alcoholic version of me with a cute smile and an air of confidence that makes it easy to believe every word she says. She loves to remind me what I cannot do, and she’s full of opinions about what the future is bound to look like. She moonlights as a realist and masquerades as a friend who only wants to save me from embarrassment, but it’s hard to tell where her honesty ends and the hopelessness begins. Some days I listen to her. “It’s impossible,” she says matter-of-factly, pouring herself another glass of her current drink of choice. “No matter how much you…
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The Silence of the Lambs: My Review 32 Years Later
In case you live under a rock, MAJOR CONTENT WARNING. Also just a very long article.
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That Halloween Mood
Spooky season? More like the real most wonderful time of the year! You know what I love about Halloween? The expectations are totally different from any other holiday. You can kick it however you like, and you’ll fit right in. Love horror movies? Go wild. Want to play it safe and decorate jack-o-lanterns? Go for it. Decorate with spooky elegant decor all year round? Well, now you blend in! In fact, I think it might be said that Halloween is one of the most customizable holidays. Sure, you could technically celebrate anything (or nothing) exactly as you please, but at Halloween, you’re freer from rigid expectations. Let Me Feel This…
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Okay, Gina…Why the Spooky Stuff?
The Perfect Metaphor I recently remembered a story my mom likes to tell from when I was little. We were with family at a hotel pool, and I was the youngest of the group of cousins there. The others, including my older sister, were big enough and good enough swimmers to go in the deep end, and they spent most of their time there. I was…an okay swimmer. My parents had insisted I take swim lessons. “Because so much of the earth is covered with water,” I remember my mom explaining, “you don’t want it to be a true emergency for you to just fall in.” But my desire to…
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A Belated Happy Birthday to My Latest Novel
I’ve been waiting forever to give this update: I’ve finished another book! That’s right, Novel No. 2 is a wrap. It still has to go through editing, which is slated to happen this month, but the writing of the manuscript is done. Actually, it was done around mid-April, but I still haven’t emotionally processed it. Story of my life, it seems. So, without further ado… Introducing: The Mysteriarch of Magnolia. Detective Ernest Cubbedge is called in to find a missing girl. The catch? The old southern patriarch who says she is missing from his house has lived alone for the past five years, and the men of the village have…